Jonathan and I like to watch birds. We do not like to get up before dawn, as I believe diehard birders do. We therefore watch birds when we are out, often in the middle of the day. Our High-Noon Birding Society has had darn good luck, and I recommend others to start their own branch.
We’ve seen about 25 different birds in Norway. Some are species that we see elsewhere like ravens, magpies, jackdaws, mallards, and tits.
Others are new and different, like the white-tailed eagle that is rare anywhere but Norway.
Fieldfare are the birds that take the place of robins we see in the US, hopping along the edge of the road and yards. They are unmistakable when they take off. Their lower back is light gray, a real giveaway when they are flying away from you.
The white wagtail is another bird we see that is easy to identify.
Many birds seem to be color-coded: Redwing, Redpoll, Redshanks, and a pair of red-breasted mergansers (ducks), along. Then there’s the Greenfinch.
No Bluethroat yet, however.
We get a big kick out of seeing something new, trying to get a good enough look at it to go to our book, “Birds of Europe” (Princeon Field Guides) and identify it. Amanda gave us tiny post-its that look like owls that we use as bookmarks. We’ll never have a “Big Year” of birding (see the funny movie of the same name), but we have a good time.
[None of the bird photos on this page were taken by me–thank you to the people who post them on the internet.]
Llywindatravels 2022 